Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming May 2016 18 Managing Partner Ben Lee explains. “The tales I have heard about how Dad will leave his family to frolic over at Chimelong whilst he pops over for a couple of days [in Macau] to play is sheer pipedream: a) he still needs a visa; and b) once he has been and returns to Hengqin, he has used up his visa.” Numbers show little current tourist traffic between Macau and Hengqin. About one in 12 visitors to Macau, an average of less than 7,000 daily, arrive via the Lotus Bridge crossing, up marginally over the past year, compared with an average of nearly 45,000 daily at Gongbei. Perhaps more telling, a 2014 survey by Union Gaming Group found just one in five visitors to Chimelong planned to cross into Macau as part of their trip. Similarly, surveys by Macau’s Institute for Tourism Studies’ Tourism Research Center (ITRC) found that over the past three years, no more than 8.8% of visitors to Macau had or planned to visit Hengqin (or the rest of Zhuhai) on their trip, compared with about 20% of visitors saying they had or would visit Hong Kong. ITRC sees those numbers indicating visitor interest in multiple destinations and the role Hengqin could play to boost the region. “The development of Hengqin can be viewed as beneficial to all the neighboring cities as this may enable or even encourage visitors to consider a multi-destination stay for a longer period,” ITRC wrote in a collective response to questions from Inside Asian Gaming . “A restaurant owner may not worry about competition fromneighborhood restaurants; as long as they are all of good quality and sufficient variation, ultimately the whole street will be crowded and full of good food hunters.” But those foodies will need permission to visit any restaurant in the neighborhood to maximize the benefit to all. Mr Ossolinski expects easier movement between Hengqin and Macau, possibly with a single electronic permit, will come as more projects create more demand for it. “Right now, Hengqin is mainly just construction plus Chimelong,” he says. He also believes that easing movement between Hengqin and Macau will likely mean restricting movement into the Hengqin Free Zone from the Zhuhai side, noting that access to other Free Zones is restricted. A border station has been built at the north end of Hengqin, on the island side Cover Story of the bridge to Zhuhai, but is not yet in operation. Free access to Hengqin for Macau vehicles without the currently required mainland license plates has been agreed to in principle for more than a year but hasn’t yet happened as officials struggle with the mechanics, which may entail instituting Hengqin-Zhuhai border controls. Whatever the details, over the long haul, Mr Ossolinski is confident the authorities will act to support the convergence of Macau and Hengqin tourism. “They’ll make it happen, one way or another. It defeats the purpose if they don’t.” PIGGYBACK RIDERS Who will gain from Hengqin’s development? Few doubt that mainland authorities want Hengqin to help Macau. However, not everyone is convinced Macau’s tourism and gaming sectors are the intended major beneficiaries. “The Chinese government doesn’t care about the gaming industry or the casino concessionaires in Macau. It doesn’t benefit from Macau per se,” an industry executive who asked not to be identified says. “China is using Hengqin to piggyback onto Macau.” The 4.5 square kilometer Guangdong-Macau Industrial Park on Hengqin reserved for Macau companies includes 19 projects in tourism as well as logistics, trade and technology, with projected The Huarong Hengqin Tower, seen across the Qixin Strait from Taipa. To the left is the Lotus Bridge crossing into Cotai. The real key to connecting Macau and Hengqin remains the rail links … “We will have to wait another 10 to 20 years to see that happen given the delays in our light rail construction so let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” Ben Lee cautions.